Cris W. Barnes

Abstract: We present full sky microwave maps in five bands (23 to 94 GHz) from the WMAP first year sky survey. Calibration errors are 1 per mode to l=658. The temperature-polarization cross-power spectrum reveals both acoustic features and a large angle correlation from reionization. The optical depth of reionization is 0.17 +/- 0.04, which implies a reionization epoch of 180+220-80 Myr (95% CL) after the Big Bang at a redshift of 20+10-9 (95% CL) for a range of ionization scenarios. This early reionization is incompatible with the presence of a significant warm dark matter density. The age of the best-fit universe is 13.7 +/- 0.2 Gyr old. Decoupling was 379+8-7 kyr after the Big Bang at a redshift of 1089 +/- 1. The thickness of the decoupling surface was dz=195 +/- 2. The matter density is Omega_m h^2 = 0.135 +0.008 -0.009, the baryon density is Omega_b h^2 = 0.0224 +/- 0.0009, and the total mass-energy of the universe is Omega_tot = 1.02 +/- 0.02. The spectral index of scalar fluctuations is fit as n_s = 0.93 +/- 0.03 at wavenumber k_0 = 0.05 Mpc^-1, with a running index slope of dn_s/d ln k = -0.031 +0.016 -0.018 in the best-fit model. This flat universe model is composed of 4.4% baryons, 22% dark matter and 73% dark energy. The dark energy equation of state is limited to w<-0.78 (95% CL). Inflation theory is supported with n_s~1, Omega_tot~1, Gaussian random phases of the CMB anisotropy, and superhorizon fluctuations. An admixture of isocurvature modes does not improve the fit. The tensor-to-scalar ratio is r(k_0=0.002 Mpc^-1)<0.90 (95% CL).

TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented a model of polarized foreground emission that captures the large angular scale characteristics of the microwave sky and analyzed the 3-year full-sky maps of the polarization and cosmological implications.

TL;DR: The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has mapped the full sky in Stokes I, Q, and U parameters at frequencies of 23, 33, 41, 61, and 94 GHz as mentioned in this paper.

TL;DR: In this paper, the angular power spectrum derived from the first-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) sky maps is derived from 28 cross-power spectra of statistically independent channels.